Playing attachment for stringed musical instruments.



v G. L, REYNOLDS. PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOB STRIRGBD MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 8. 1913.

1 ;1 15,865. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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PLAYING ATTAGHMENT FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLIGATION FILED D120. 8, 1913.

1, 1 1 5 ,865, Patented Nov. 3, 19M

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTO-LITHD" WASHINGIDH, D4 C. v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE LEE REYNOLDS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE PHONOHARP COMPANY, OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE LEE REY- NOLDS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing Attachments for Stringed Musical Instruments of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to stringed musical instruments having spring hammers or strikers for causing the vibration of the strings, such for instance as illustrated in Letters Patent to Marx, No. 1,044,553, dated November 19, 1912. In such instruments, there has been considerable trouble owing to the frequency with which the spring shanks of the hammers break. These shanks are made of thin strips of spring steel, and, when they are depressed in playing, to cause the impingement of the heads upon the string, the bend of the shank is relatively sharp and close to the edge of the support on which the shanks are secured. As a result of the constant bending at the line of th edge, the hammers break and must be replaced. The replacement of the hammers has been relatively diiiicult and costly, since it required the removal of the attachment from the instrument and the separation of all of the parts. The purchaser of these instruments, who is of average mechanical ability, is unable to replace a broken hammer, and is compelled to send the instrument to a repair shop or to the manufacturer for repair.

The object of the present invention is to provide certain improvements in the construction and arrangement of the parts constituting the playing attachment for decreasing the liability 'of the hammers to break, and also for permitting the replacement of a hammer with ease and without requiring the use of special tools or equipment, so that the operator or purchaser may make the repairs. In accomplishing these objects, I form the support, on which the fixed end of each hammer rests, with a curved portion or extension on which the shank progressively bears, and which causes the shank at its bend to form a curve of relatively large radius; and I also mount the hammers so that they are detachable independently of each other, thereby permitting them to be readily replaced.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 8, 1913.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914. Serial No. 805,198.

On the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of the invent1on, -F1gure 1 represents a plan view of the instrument. Fig. 2 represents an end elevation thereof. Fig, 3 represents an enlarged section on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. lillustrates a portion of the holder. Fig. 5 illustrates a portion of the outer bar which carries the set-screws. Fig. 6 illustrates the block as having formed thereon the convex surface for the hammers.

The instrument shown is a zithern or mandolin harp and comprises a body or sounding box Over the body are the strings cl which are for convenience grouped into chords so that they may be manipulated by the left hand of the player, and the open scale of melody strings is indicated at 0. It will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular instrument which is shown, as the invention relates more particularly to the attachment which will be described and which may be used in instruments of other kinds.

The attachment comprises a block (Z which is secured by screws or other fastening to the straight end of the instrument and upon which are placed and supported the springhammers by which the melody strings may be caused to vibrate. This block may be conveniently formed of wood or other material, and is constructed with a cavity cl so as not to engage the pins to which the strings are attached. At its upper end, which projects above the plane of the strings, there is a lateral flange (Z which extends a short distance over the strings and which serves as a rest or abutment to arrest the movement of the spring-hammers when they are depressed so as to cause their vibration and the impingement of their heads upon the strings. The upper face of the rest is provided with a strip of felt or other cushioning material as indicated at d Preferably the block or supports extends the entire width of the instrument, although this is not necessary.

The spring-hammers are indicated at 6. each hammer consistin of a head 6 of wood, lead or other suitable material, and a shank 6 consisting of an elongated thin strip of spring steel or other equivalent material. The outer end of each hammer is rigidly affixed to the support with its head end free to be depressed by the finger of the operator. For detachably securing hammers to the support, I employ a holder which consists of an elongated metallic plate or strip One longitudinal margin or edge of this plate is bent outwardly to form a lip or stop f, whereas the other marginal portion is bent as indicated at f, the curve being that of a relatively large radius. Between the curved por ion f and the lip f there is a plane body portion i At intervals, pairs of tongues or lips f are cut from the body portion, and the lips of each pair are bent or folded toward each other over the outer surface of the body to form sockets or guideways to receive the ends of the hammers. These lips extend transversely of the longitudinal lines of the holder f. The holder is attached by screws or other fastenings to the block or support (Z, the latter being formed or cut away so that the main body portion f of the holder is at an acute angle to the plane of the strings. hen the ends of the spring-hammers are placed in the sockets in the holder, the hammers lie at an acute angle to the stri as and their heads are relatively remote from the strings so that they are swung through a relatively long are and acquire consider able momentum before the shanks engage the rest (Z The upper marginal portion of the holder f is substantially flush with the cushioning material (Z on the rest, said marginal portion lying upon the face of the flange or rest (Z Each hammer, after it is placed in its socket, is held against accidental movement by an individual screw. These screws may be passed directly through apertures formed in the fixed ends of the shanks of the hammers without departing from the scope of the invention, but I preferably arrange them in a bar 9 which is nlaced upon the holder to rest upon the lips f* as shown. The lower edge of the bar rests against the marginal lip f of the holder. The bar is detachably secured in place by screws or other fastenings indicated at g, Jassed through apertures in the holder into the block or support cl. Above the end of each hammer shank in the holder there is a set-screw h screwed into the bar so that it may be caused to engage the end of the shank and prevent the accidental removal of the harm mer. By means of a screwdriver, any one of the set-screws may be loosened and the hammer longitudinally withdrawn or disengaged from its socket in the holder.

A cover or casing 6, formed of sheet metal and bent to overlap the support cl and the fixed ends of the hammers, is removably at tached to the support by screws 2'. Along its upper edge, this casing has hooks 2' the ends of which enter the apertures between the bar 9 and the holder to secure its upper edge in place. By removing the screws 2', this casing may be readily displaced, thereby exposing the set-screws h for manipulation.

Each hammer is preferably provided with a finger-piece carried thereby and exposed for manipulation by the operator or player. As shown, the finger-piece consists of a fiat tube of sheet metal, rigidly secured upon -he shank of the hammer and having an upturned end portion 7a to prevent the finger from slipping too far forward on the hammer. These finger-pieces are arranged so as to lie above the rest and they perform the same functions as the equivalent fiugenpieces shown and described in the lvllflI'X patent previously referred to.

Like the instrument in the Marx patent, the one which I have illustrated is provided with a stop an supported by springs m arranged above the hammer heads so as to be engaged thereby when the hammere are released. This stop is provided with one or more layers of cushioning material on its under face to damp or stop the vibration of the hammers when they are released. The springs, which support the step, are located in sockets in the holder similar to those in which the shanks of the hammers are located, and the said springs are secured in place by set-screws similar to those employed for securing the spring- 1 niners detachably in place.

When one of the finger-pieces is engaged and depressed by the finger of the player, there is a progressive engagement of that portion of the shank which is immediately adjacent the socket with the curved bearin portion f of the holder, which prevents the hammer from being bent over an abrupt edge or from being bent in the arc of a circle of very short radius. By thus pro viding a bearing portion with which the shank of the hammer progressively engages, I find that the danger of breakage is practically eliminated. bearing portion may be formed either as a part of the holder or else it maybe formed as a part of the block or support, shown for instance in Fig. 6, although for some reasons it is preferable to form it on the holder.

In either case, I provide means for mounting the hammers above the strings, having a plane supporting surface for the fixed ends of the hammers, and also having an adjacent surface 'convexly curved downwardly and inwardly from the normal plane of the hammers and arranged to be engaged progressively toward the head of the hammer as each hammer is depressed, whereby the curvature of the hammer when bent the bend in the spring shank) is caused to conform to the curvature of the curved surface.

Having thus explained the nature of my It is evident that this n said invention and described a way of making and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a support attached to said instrument, a series of spring-hammers, and means for rigidly and detachably securing the end of each of said hammers independently of the others to the said support, whereby each hammer is detachable independently of the others.

2. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a support attached to said instrument, a holder on said support having sockets, a plurality of spring-hammers in said sockets, and removable independently of each other, and means for securing said hammers rigidly but detachably in said sockets.

3. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a support attached to said instrument, a plurality of hammers having spring shanks, a holder on said support having a plurality of sockets to receive the fixed ends of the spring shanks, and a screw for each shank for detachably securing the same in its socket.

4. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a support attached to said instrument, a metallic holder on said support having a series of pairs of lips forming sockets, and spring hammers having their ends detachably secured in said sockets.

5. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a support attached to said instrument, a holder attached to the exterior of said support and having sockets formed on its face, a plurality of spring hammers whose shanks are inserted in said sockets, a bar arranged exteriorly of said holder, and set screws passing through said bar for detachably holding said shanks in said sockets.

6. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a support affixed to the instrument transversely of the strings, a holder on the exterior of the support and arranged at an angle to the plane of the strings and having transverse sockets, a plurality of hammers having spring shanks whose fixed ends are detachably mounted in said sockets, and screws for detachably holding said shanks in said sockets.

7. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a support affixed to the instrument transversely of the strings, a sheet metal holder on the exterior of the support and having a plane portion arranged at an angle to the plane of the strings, and also having pairs of lips in its plane portion constituting sockets, and spring hammers having the free ends of their shanks detachably mounted in said sockets.

8. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a plurality of hammers having spring shanks, a metallic holder arranged transversely of the strings, having pairs of parallel lips constituting sockets for the ends of the spring shanks and also having along one edge an out-turned flange against which the extremities of said shanks abut, and means for detachably securing said shanks in said sockets and adapted to permit the removal of each hammer independently of the others.

9. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a plurality of hammers having spring shanks, a metallic holder arranged transversely of the strings, having pairs of parallel lips constituting sockets for the ends of the spring shanks and also having along one edge an out-turned flange against which the extremities of said shanks abut, a bar extending longitudinally of said holder and outside of said sockets, and screws passed through said bar for holding said shanks detachably in said sockets.

10. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a plurality of hammers each comprising a head and a straight spring shank, of means for mounting said hammers above the strings, having a plane supporting surface to support the fixed ends of the hammers, and an adjacent surface convexly curved downwardly and inwardly from the normal plane of the hammer shanks and arranged to be engaged progressively toward the head of the hammer as each hammer is depressed, whereby the curvature of the hammer shanks when bent is caused to conform to the curvature of the said curved surface.

11. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a plurality of hammers each comprising a head and a straight spring shank, of means for mounting said hammers above the strings, comprising a holder having a plane body portion at an angle to the strings socketed to receive the fixed ends of the spring shanks, said holder having an edge portion convexly curved inwardly and downwardly from the plane of the body portion, and about which the spring shanks are bent when depressed.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE LEE REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

MARCUS B. MAY, Josnrn B. GREEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Gommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

